What can we do to stop likely offenders turning to crime?
Crime is not spread evenly across our region, any region for that matter.
We all know the areas to avoid, particularly after the Sarah Everard case, which really hit home for many women around how common it can be to feel unsafe.
We often make choices about where to live, where to send our children to school, where to head on a night out based around being safe. There are places where we double-check the car door is locked and neighbourhoods we speed up our step as we pass through, perhaps even subconsciously at times.
This week the Echo reported on the 12 places where most crime was reported across central Sunderlandduring April, according to new Home Office figures.
Now, nobody wants to live, work or raise a family in an area referred to as a crime hotspot, but why should they have to? And how can we turn these places into, well, “cooler” spots?
Anti-social behaviour plays a large part in the numbers. It’s fair to say it’s an issue in many parts of the region although, in many cases, is about something other than laws being broken and criminality.
Neighbourhoods with high levels of crime and disorder can sometimes be linked to other underlying social conditions such as poverty or drugs. In some instances, therefore, crime is predictable – it occurs in a certain place brought on by certain root causes. Our focus therefore has to be on - what is creating these likely offenders and how do we make them less likely to offend?
This work is at the heart of my Violence Reduction Unit, which seeks to bring the authorities and communities together to support young people and help them to avoid stepping into a life of crime.
You see, it is often the case that the social problems are beyond the ability of the police to deal with on their own and it’ s only the truly joined up efforts that plan for the future that will bring about long term change for the residents and future generations.
But what about how we are fighting crime now?
One of my top priorities is tackling AS Band we are in the process of developing new taskforces designed to meet the crime fighting needs of the community at a very local level - to really get a grip of local matters.
This will ensure our police continue working with others includingeducation providers, local councils, housing organisations and crucially, youth services.